Manuel Roman Jr.

Please join us in remembering Manuel Roman Jr, loving husband, father of six girls, grandfather, and good friend, who passed away on Thursday, November 5th at the age of 91. It was our parents’ 70th wedding anniversary, and we are all very certain he waited so he could make it special for our mother, Gloria, who was waiting for him in Heaven.

We are so very, very grateful that in his last days, all his daughters, grandchildren and extended family members were able to be at home with him, praying and telling him our love for him and goodbyes. He had been suffering heart problems, dementia and old age. While it is very sad, it is reassuring he is no longer suffering and he was loved by so many.

Manuel was born October 29, 1929, in Santa Clara to Manuel and Nettie Roman. His father was a fireman and worked at Westinghouse in Santa Clara. His mother worked in a candy factory and was a homemaker. They both immigrated from Spain to Hawaii and then to California in 1917.

Manuel attended Santa Clara Highschool and enlisted in the Navy in 1948 during the Korean war. He was stationed in London, England, where he met and married our mother, Gloria Robinson. After their wedding in 1950, they returned to the United States to Norfolk, Virginia. Manuel was an electrical contractor while Gloria was a homemaker.

He was a very proud American and worked hard as an electrical contractor in Silicon Valley. He was an active member of the IBEW 332 Electrical Contractors Union, and on the board of directors for NECA, where he reviewed, rewrote and lobbied for new electrical codes nationwide that are still used today. He was a founding member of the British American Club, where he met many royals, dignitaries and celebrities. He was a great father figure to many of our friends growing up and to extended family members who needed a strong father figure.

He was our rock and a very big person. He loved his family and gave us wonderful Christmases, shared the best music, TV and films with us and encouraged us to go far in life and stand up for ourselves. He taught us the love of the ocean and nature, especially Lake Tahoe. He took us fishing, on work trouble calls and on many luxurious vacations. He kept in touch with many of his childhood friends who we got to know and truly valued friendships. He loved his Cadillacs and was a no-nonsense guy who tolerated no BS, said a lot of goddamnits, hated us staying up late or sleeping in, and told us to always keep our car clean because it would drive better. He quit smoking the day his youngest daughter was born, barely ever drank and was a semi-professional craps player who was a regular winner at Harrah’s Tahoe.

He had incredible luck and a ton of amazing stories, and loved to tell them — from breaking out of jail in San Francisco when he was 15 (case of mistaken identity), hitchhiking near Onxard and being picked up by Jack Dempsey, meeting Prince Charles at a Queen’s Ball, to booking Tom Jones at the Oakland Coliseum in the ’60s and arranging for the Welsh Royal Guard to escort Tom on stage. There are so many more of his stories to tell and we will miss him retelling them to us.

He is survived by his daughters, Claire, Ann, Jennifer (Bill), Mary, Barbara (Mike), Rebecca (Roger); and by 8 grandchildren, 2 great-grandchildren, and his many cousins, nieces and nephews.

Manuel loved life and spread his love, strength and inspiration to everyone he met. He will be very missed and we know his incredible legacy will live on. We love you, Dad and Mom, and you are forever in all of our hearts.

A memorial gathering is planned for summer 2021. A private burial will be at Gates of Heaven Cemetery in Los Altos, CA, on Monday, November 23, 2020 at 12:30pm. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to: St. Jude Research Hospital https://www.stjude.org/